you need to do what ever you feel comfortable with. Both methods are acceptable.

I was raised a quilting snob - by a mother who saw tied quilts as inferior. (She was NOT a quilter!) I would have sworn that my grandmother (the quilter) never tied a quilt in her life, but .... found two she made for my son 31 years ago that ... gasp ... were tied. They are made of double knit and very heavy so that's probably why she tied them or ... he's adopted and we got him sooner than expected and she may have just wanted to do this quickly. Anyway --- after I examined those quilts my tied-prejudice evaporated. In certain circumstances tied is fine! (I'm a beginner and do SIMPLE machine quilting - if it's too big for my machine it gets tied. If I want that more puffy look - tied.)

Tied is o.k., but like everyone said the machine quilting will make the quilt more durable. There are overall patterns and thick batting I've used to make quilts more, "Puffy", as some like. This also helps soften the hardness of a more dense pattern.
I've had customers with keepsake quilts have me undo the ties and machine quilt them with great success.
In general I guess its what you like or want and I can only respect that!----Dave B.

I've heard that kids and babies like to pick at or chew on the ties. I helped tie a quilt for the guild, and not only was it extremely boring but my back was really sore from leaning over the frame. Given a choice, I would opt for quilting.

My baby blanket was tied - that's all my gma ever did. It wore out everywhere else (mainly the edges and corners) and the ties were still fine so I guess it all depends on the use. Mine went through a LOT and wasn't officially retired until I was in HS and it just started deteriorating. I made one for DH 7 or 8 years ago that was tied and it's still going strong. I am getting ready to make a king and will most likely tie it b/c I am going to slowly hand quilt our "story" into it. It's also good for some kids, like mine, who will play with the ties as they fall asleep. A lot of it is personal preference.

I have to agree with Jim's Gem. I don't care for the tied look either.

I like the tied method for quilts that use heavier materials like jean and are "work" quilts.

I use tying for the charity quilts I give away because I can enlist everyone's help. Children can help tie and we can do several in one evening. They last very well, though by using a certain kind of thread, we struggle when the ties want to come out so now I use crochet cotton.

I think of them more as comforters and not quilts.

I prefer machine quilting on things that I really call "quilts". But, I have to use much thinner batting if I machine quilt it. Tying means I can have a puffy comforter which will actually be much warmer. I can double the thickness of the batting with tying. (100 gram is about the thickest I think for machine quilting, but 200 gram makes a super nice, warm, puffy comforter.)

My MIL called me the other day. She had just bought a quilt at the country bazaar and it is tied, KING SIZE with too few ties. She remembered that I was taking quilting classes so now she wants me to FMQ something around the ties. aaarrrggghhh!

Me - not so much a fan of ties.

I made quilts for my kids out of old jeans with the thickest batting I could find and polar fleece as the back. They are tied because of the thickness of them and look great! Living in the cold northwest and in the basement, they LOVE those quilts. Several of their friends have requested one and keep bringing me old jeans!